China Suspends Visas For South Koreans In Covid Retaliation

China suspended visas Tuesday for South Koreans to come to the country for tourism or business in apparent retaliation for COVID-19 testing requirements on Chinese travellers.

A brief notice posted online by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said the ban would apply until South Korea lifted its “discriminatory measures on entrance by China” to the country.

No other details were given, although China has threatened to retaliate against countries that require travelers from China to show a negative test result for COVID-19 taken within the previous 48 hours.

The World Health Organization and several nations have accused China of withholding data on its outbreak. The testing requirements are aimed at identifying potential virus variants carried by travelers.